How to use maps to enter and edit locations

Introduction

Maps are used in the main pages (nodes) of Place, the Churches Directory and the Gazetteer to provide  locations. This is in addition to the use of fields such as "County" and "Parent Place" and the URL alias as a part of the geographical hierarchy. There are slight differences as follows:

• In place nodes at Parish/Township level a map is generated for viewing on that page (unless you specify a different map). When you edit such a node the map is not available to edit. It derives from the entry for that node's "primary place" in the gazetteer.
• In the Churches Directory and Gazetteer node the map for that place is available both to view and edit. In these cases the map is the main way of providing exact locations.

This page describes the key ways to enter or correct data in both cases using the map in the edit screen. The maps in the Gazetteer can also be used to enter parish boundaries. In How to draw or edit a parish boundary you can also get some illustrated examples of the general steps on locations below.

Map Functions and features

When viewing the map as part of viewing a node you will see  three icon controls

• Map view
  • zoom in + and out -  (top left)
  • full screen toggle (second left) Note that some browsers produce a larger but not full screen map.
• Map Layer Switcher  (top right):
  • clicking on this will show a variety of available maps. These may vary from place to place according to the sources for that location. You can select from modern maps, a satellite view, a range of maps dating back to the 19th Century - usually with one large scale version - and the Kane and Oliver parish boundary maps

When viewing the map as part of editing the node there is a change to the left hand side menu and there  are additional controls on the right hand side, with more options on the gazetteer maps reflecting the need to be able to show boundaries as well as point locations

• Map view
  • full screen toggle (top left) Note that some browsers produce a larger but not full screen map.
  • zoom in + and out -  with a slider adjustment as well (second left) The slider is an additional feature but has the same effect as the + and -.
  • Zoom level (reflects the changes but is not entry field
• Map Layer Swithcer  (top right):
  • clicking on this will show a variety of available maps. These may vary from place to place according to the sources for that location. You can select from modern maps, a satellite view, a range of maps dating back to the 19th Century - usually with one large scale version - and the Kane and Oliver parish boundary maps
• Editing cotrols (second right). There are up to three items 
  • Draw marker: as it says allows you to add a marker to the map (currently in the form of a teardrop). Click on the tool and a marker appears at your cursor when on the map. Drag it to a position and click to place. You can subsequently change the position using "Edit Layers" (see below)
  • Draw line (not churches as boundaries do not apply). Click on this to get a circle under the cursor. Click at the chosen location to start a line. Move to another position and click to end that line. If you click on that second vertex you will complete a single line. If you move to a third location and click you will get a second line. Continue as many times as you wish and complete by clicking on an existing vertex. 
  • Draw polygon (not churches as boundaries do not apply). This operates in much the same way as draw line but the you must complete a closed shape by clicking finally on the starting vertex. The resulting polygon is shaded
• Layer tools (third right)
  • Edit layers: click on this to change any existing objects (marker, line or polygon) by clicking and dragging. For lines and lines within polygons you can move any vertex and, in addition, there is a draggable additional point in the centre of each line.
  • Drag layers: This allows you to click and drag the map base. In practice this is the default if no other control is in operation.
  • Cut layers: This wlli allow this you to create a polygon, typically over part of an existing polygon. Once you complete the polygon it will remove any overlapping part of the underlying shape. You can put the cutting polygon inside an existing polygon and it will cut  a "hole" ie insert new lines and remove the shading 
  • Remove layers: in effect an eraser for any objects.

Churches

The entries for a church require only one or more point locations. No boundaries will be entered for churches.

New node

If you are entering a location of a church as part of creating a new church node the simplest approach is:

• pan the standard map to a suitable location to identify the church
• choose one of the historic maps or the ordnance map that is likely to have some easily recognised symbol for a church
• click on the draw marker tool and drag a teardrop to the right place
• select the "precision" setting to reflect your degree of confidence in what you have used to identify the location
• save the node (provided you have entered all other essential information.

If you edit the node after it has been saved you will see that data has been entered into the "Geometry data in Well Known Text (WKT) format". This will not appear until you have saved the node.

Editing an existing node

Usually this will be to increase the precision of the location. A marker (tear drop) will be visible on the map. Edit the node. Click on the edit layer tool. Click and hold on the teardrop and drag to a new location. Amend the "precision" setting if necessary.

Adding a second location for a church

This is usually needed if over time the congregation has moved buildings.

Do not add a second teardrop to the original map This will then create a single marker on the map as viewed at the middle point of the line/shape produced by two or more markers. 

Click on the "add another location" and repeat the process above. You will need to pan and zoom the new map which will start from a mid UK point.

Gazetteer entry

There are gazetteer entries for a variety of places, ranging in scale from counties down to individual buildings. All will require a point location; some, mainly parishes, should include a boundary if possible. Adding a boundary is more complex and is now nearly complete in may areas. However this other How to guide on draw or edit a parish boundary is is essential if you need to add a parish boundary and is very helpful at understanding the controls on the maps.

New Gazetteer node

If you are entering a location  as part of creating a new gazetteer entry node the simplest approach is:

• pan the standard map to a suitable location covering the area
• choose one of the historic maps or the ordnance map that is likely to have some easily recognised part of the area
• click on the draw marker tool and drag a teardrop to the right place to represent the area ( a named place or roughly the centre of the area)
• select the "precision" setting to reflect your degree of confidence in what you have used to identify the location
• save the node (provided you have entered all other essential information.

If you edit the node after it has been saved you will see that data has been entered into the "Geometry data in Well Known Text (WKT) format". This will not appear until you have saved the node.

Editing an existing Gazetteer entry node

Usually this will be to increase the precision of the location. A tear drop will be visible on the map. Edit the node. Click on the edit layer tool. Click and hold on the teardrop and drag to a new location. Amend the "precision" setting if necessary.

Using an OS Reference 

The field "Ordnance Survey grid reference" is an alternative way of entering a teardrop marker (but not boundaries). It requires a entry in a format SO7063507000 ie the grid square and two 5 digit easting and northing references.

Enter such a reference and click on "replace". This will create a teardrop at the reference location. It will also enter data into the "Geometry data in Well Known Text (WKT) format" but this will not be visible until the node has been saved. 

You can alter the Geometry field, the OS field (in each case pressing replace) or the position of the teardrop using the edit function on the map. If you then save the node the corrected position and data will be set in all three.